Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, 31 kilometers south of India and in the Indian Ocean. The ethnic distribution of the population is 74% Sinhalese, 13% Sri Lankan Tamils, 5.5% Indian Tamils, 7% Moor (Muslim community), and others.
The spread of Islam in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), located in the south of India, took place in the 7th century through Arab merchants and Islamic missionaries. Initially welcomed by the kings of the region, the Muslims gradually established a very large trading colony here.
The Muslims of the country, known as Moors, date their ancestry back to the Arabs who came and settled here for trade from the 8th century onwards. Although there is a separate claim that the Moors come from India and are of Tamil origin, the Moors consider themselves to be of Arab origin. In addition, Muslims brought to the region from Southeast Asia, Java, and Malaysia during the British colonial period joined the Muslim presence in Sri Lanka.
From the 16th century onwards, Muslims suffered immense difficulties during the colonial activities carried out on the island, first by the Portuguese and then by the Dutch, and Muslims were pushed out of commercial life by being driven away from the port cities towards the interior regions. Missionary activities aimed to Christianize the island's people, Muslims' religious freedoms were restricted, and mass ceremonies such as marriage, circumcision, and funerals were banned. In this period, while Muslims were prevented from entering the island from outside, especially from India, Muslims were also prevented from leaving the regions where they lived.
Britain, the third colonial power in Sri Lanka, made relative improvements in these practices. Particularly during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the Muslim people on the island showed their loyalty to the caliphate at every opportunity, ceremonies were organized in the country on the anniversary of Sultan's enthronement, aid was collected and sent to Istanbul after the defeat in the Balkan War and for the Hejaz Railway project, and it became common to wear the fez and bear the nickname of Efendi.
Although the exact proportion is not known, it is estimated that approximately 10% of the Sri Lankan population is Muslim today, which indicates the presence of over 2 million Muslims in the country. Although Muslims are scattered all over the country, they mostly live in the eastern parts. Apart from a small number of Shiite elements, the vast majority of Muslims in the country are Shafi'i and follow the Hanafi school. There are more than 1000 mosques and a rich cultural environment of the Islamic community. On the other hand, more than 200 qadi courts, which have been serving in the country since earlier times, have undertaken a kind of advisory mission in the marriage and divorce procedures of Muslims, whose decisions are supervised by the country's legal system.
Muslims, who remained neutral in the crisis between Sinhalese and Tamil groups during the independence period in the country, have taken a balanced position within the country and kept this attitude in the country's politics today. In line with this, many Muslim foundations and associations are active in Sri Lanka today.